Donald Trump thrust himself into the pregame chatter surrounding the United States’ World Cup showdown with Belgium, and now fans are directing their ire at him, blaming what they call the “Trump Curse” for the defeat.
Trump pressured FIFA to review and overturn the red card awarded to U.S. striker Folarin Balogun in the previous round.
Balogun started the round of 16 clash against Belgium, but his presence could not save the United States from a clumsy display that culminated in a 4-1 thrashing at Seattle’s Lumen Field on July 6.
“A U.S. soccer fan in the stands declared, ‘Everything Trump touches dies,’ in a video shared on X that also carried an expletive aimed at the president.”
“I’m proud of our team. I’m proud of our fans…Everything Trump touches dies!”
It was evident that Trump’s interference and the reversal of Balogun’s red-card suspension lingered in the minds of Belgium’s players.
Belgium substitute Romelu Lukaku and his teammates mocked Trump’s signature dance after striking the final goal of the match.
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The squad later posted a celebratory photo on X after the game with the caption, “Overturn this.”
Setting Trump’s meddling aside, the United States players did not carry the same banner of glory that had marked their earlier World Cup performances.
From the outset, the squad struggled to complete passes consistently.
Three American players watched a ball drop from the air while a Belgian opponent beat them to it and set up the game’s opening goal in the ninth minute.
The United States would later equalize to 1-1 but quickly surrendered the lead and never recovered.
Diabolical: Belgian soccer squad does the Trump dance after DESTROYING the US Team 4:1 pic.twitter.com/zjRnd5RYxW
— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) July 7, 2026
Trump has often found himself on the wrong side of sports prognostications or in the stands when a home team falters.
Before this World Cup letdown, Trump attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals on June 8.
The Knicks had rattled off 13 consecutive playoff wins at that moment. Yet, the Spurs defeated them in front of the president, halting the Knicks’ streak.
That win would stand as the Spurs’ sole victory of the Finals, while New York captured its first NBA title in 53 years only five days after Trump watched Game 3 in person.
These outcomes have only deepened the lore of the Trump Curse, with many now treating it as a genuine phenomenon.
Some even believe it affected U.S. star Christian Pulisic, who performed the “Trump Dance” after scoring against Jamaica in November 2024.
Pulisic—widely regarded as one of the team’s most consequential players—registered a modest World Cup showing before departing the Seattle-Belgium match with an injury.
“In the 14 games since Christian Pulisic broke out the Trump dance, he’s scored 1 goal and 3 assists with an average match rating of 6.6,” one X user commented after Belgium eliminated the United States from the World Cup.
The United States players deserve much of the blame for their premature exit, but that won’t stop the Trump Curse from remaining a topic of discussion.
Expect it to resurface the next time the president decides to attend a game in person.
